A great part of our cultural heritage is stored on such motion picture film and other photographic based films. However, these films can deteriorate over time. It would be beneficial to have a simple cost effective system to identify and/or assess the rate of deterioration of such films. It would also be beneficial to record the images contained thereon and/or accurately convert such images to other mediums in order to preserve them, for example by digitizing the films. This task is normally performed by an apparatus known as a motion picture scanner.
Traditionally, motion picture scanners comprise a light source, an optical line sensor (such as a CCD or CMOS based sensor), a mechanism for moving the film through the image collection area of the line sensor and means for connecting the sensor to a processing system, typically a suitably programmed computer. An example of a new system comprising a full-frame sensor but still with highly proprietary architecture is known.
Such systems are usually fully integrated, highly-proprietary constructions. The motion picture scanner has a resolution dictated by the line sensor. Such systems are expensive and require proprietary components. However, the sentiment in many areas of the art is that such systems are necessary in order to achieve satisfactory quality.
An object of the present invention is to address or mitigate at least one problem with the prior art.